Posts Tagged 'bleach'

I have a client who is a single dad. We had a talk and he said he feels lost with the basic household stuff that he never imagined having to do. Here is a lession on cleaning the laundry. I am not an expert but have experience with proper washing.

1. Separate the clothes. You may think it is a waste of time, but you will thank me later. This dad and many others learned the hard way. You can separate them a few different ways but the easy way is by two. One load of ALL whites (make sure nothing else) and one load of colors*.

* If you have a new dark item, wash alone or with other darks. If you wash with clothes, you may ruin the pink Jonas Brothers shirt that your 9-year-old is in love with.

2. With your dark load: put the load in the washer with appropriate detergent. Set to proper setting (usually normal and/or cotton setting) and wash. When you are done with the washer, put clothes in the dryer. Before you start the dryer, make sure the lint filter is empty of lint. If it is full of lint, it may take long to dry. You can add a dryer sheet for added softness directly with the load of clothing.

3. With your white load (absolutely NO colors): Very similar but add some bleach this time. This will keep the white looking fresh. Put the load of clothes in the washer with appropriate detergent and about a half of a capful of bleach. Set to proper setting (usually normal and/or cotton setting) and wash. When you are done with the washer, put clothes in the dryer. Before you start the dryer, make sure the lint filter is empty of lint. If it is full of lint, it may take long to dry. You can add a dryer sheet for added softness directly with the load of clothing.

4. For spots: If it is not a white, do NOT use bleach. I suggest Sol-U-Mel or Shout with a spout.

If you have further suggestions for the single parent, please let me know.